The Girl on Fire
by liztits
Summary: After Santana Lopez wins The Hunger Games, her life changes, and not all for good. What are the former victors up to? And what happens when Katniss Everdeen is reaped, giving their cause the kick it needs?  Oh, won't you leave me reviews
1. One

**The next in my quadriliogy! I'm really sorry I killed Brittany, I still feel bad about it, but she might make an appearance in this. And for the sake of my story, Annie wins the 71st hunger games. Not that it makes much difference.**  
><strong>And if there's any Quitt fans in this hizzy, read my other story, You Jump, I Jump. Shameless self promotion.<br>It's hard to type with a puppy on your knee, but I hope you all enjoy reading this!  
><strong>

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><p>I sit in the dining room at my house in Victor's Village, head slumped against the table, bottle of white liquor in one hand. I'd just returned from my first year mentoring for the Hunger Games.<p>

Both my tributes died in the blood bath, which wasn't surprising, considering they were both 12, and so scrawny I could probably wrap my arm around them.

I hear my front door open and close, and I don't care enough to lift my head up.

"Well, Boobs McGhee, is that you for another year?" I lift my head up long enough to see Sue standing in front of me, smirking. "How's the victor?"

I just shake my head. This year's victor, a tribute from district 4 called Annie, came out of the arena broken. And not broken physically.

"I went to see her. Well, not see her, but I took Finnick some clean clothes. It was horrible. She was screaming and crying, trying to fight of things that weren't there." I mumble from the tabletop, still refusing to lift my head. Sue moves to take the chair next to me, prying my fingers from the neck of the bottle clutched in my hand, placing it on the table.

"So, she's a no go?" I look up at her and shake my head.

"How can you talk to someone who won't stop screaming for long enough for you to finish an entire sentence?"

"Fair enough," Sue pauses for a second, looking round my empty dining room. I'd taken down all the pictures a while ago. "What does Quinn have to say about this?"

"Quinn can go fuck herself." I rise from the table, grabbing the liquor bottle and stumbling through my empty house. It hadn't always been empty, it'd been full of life for the first six months I'd lived here, but now the place was so dead I barely spent any time here. I couldn't stand it.

Sue follows me, watching me sink onto the couch in front of the blank tv. "You agreed to this Santana, you were so full of passion in the beginning."

"Yeah, and look where that got me." I spit the words, bitter. Sue leaves with a sigh and I return to my drinking.

I'm on the train, back to the Capitol, drinking wine with Sue in the dinner cart, when our tributes for this year come in. The girl is 14, but is so mall she looks about 10. The boy is more promising though, strong from working in mines, and big. He towers over me, which is odd for boys from The Seam, as they never get much bigger than I am now. His family must be well fed.

We eat in silence, then Sue drags us all to the lounge compartment. We rewatch the reaping, eyeing up the competition, mostly in silence. We stay when the tributes leave for bed, staring at the tv.

"That girl isn't going to last a second." Sue tells me, frowning slightly. I know she puts on a brave front, pretending she's heartless, but she hates sending children to their death. I have to say, I feel the same. This will never be fair.

"There's something about the girl from 7" I tell her, draining the last of the wine from my glass and standing. "I can't place it, but she's not as weak as she looks."

I'm right, of course. Johanna Mason, the girl from 7 who went into the arena a snivelling mess, is the victor. She's tough, and because of her act, no one really pays attention to her. Not until it's too late. I'm in the training center, watching the monitors with Quinn when Johanna wins.

"She's what we need." I mutter, clutching yet another cup of wine. Everyone's assumed I'm a drunken idiot at this point, and no one really pays attention to anything I say anyway.

Quinn nods slightly, and I know she sees the same spark that I do. She gets up and walks to the elevator, and I follow her slightly. She clicks the button that will take us to the roof and leans against the side of the cab, eyeing me.

She does that every time we meet, staying quiet and looks at me with unreadable eyes, and first it confused me, which broke the way to pissing me of, but now I've just come to accept it's what she does.

When we're on the roof, she walks over to the edge and looks down at the city, watching the people below us party. There's always a reason to party here in the Capitol, which means lots of alcohol for me. She takes my glass from my hand and empties it out over the side of the building.

"Hey!" I hate it when she does that.

"I need you clear headed, how is this supposed to work if you're always so wasted you can't even remember your own name?" Her voice is soft, but I can hear the tension underneath it.

"That's the point." I sigh, slumping down onto the floor in a huff.

"So, you really think she's what we need?"

"Yeah, I can see it in her, she's angry. We need angry. And we have no one in 7 anyway, so it'd probably help us to have some kind of base there."

"I'll talk to her." She lowers herself next to me. "You know, you're kinda cute when you act like a 6 year old. Annoying, but cute." She looks out over the skyline, as if she's searching for something, then turns to me, the usual hardness in her eyes gone. "We can do this without you Santana, you know that. We need you… I need you. Please."

I just nod mutely, we've known each other 2 years and she's never spoken to me like this before. It's different.

She nods back at me, standing, and places a kiss on the top of my head, before returning to the inside of the building. I stay frozen, watching the day fade away.


	2. Two

We're barely into the reaping when I know we've got something here. No one has volunteered in 12 for decades.

"Primrose Everdeen." Our new escort, Effie Trinket, reads out. I sigh, Prim's a good girl, only just old enough to be reaped. Her name's only in there once. What happens next though, it throws the whole district.

"I volunteer." I look up and see Katniss, standing with her arms gripped by two peacekeepers. For a second I see the scared little girl in the forest, but I quickly realise this girl is not the same. I look at Sue, who's watching the girl intently, eyes sparkling.

"Well, bravo!" Effie gushes. "That's the spirit! What's your name?" She's obviously pleased that something's happening in our boring district.

"Katniss Everdeen." Her voice sounds strained, but Effie is oblivious.

"I bet my buttons that was your sister! Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we?" Fucking Effie "Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute."

No one claps, the entire town square remains silent. Then, one by one, each person in the crowd presses their three middle fingers on their left hand to their lips, and holds them out toward the stage. I feel like crying.

She reads out the name of the male tribute, Peeta Mellark, son of the towns baker, but I can't take my eyes of Katniss.

It's Katniss who really sets the whole cause into motion, from the minute she steps on to that chariot in the remake center, she's Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire.

Quinn is excited, blabbering about how her spark has ignited our cause, about how all over Panem people are already rising up to join us. I'm not so excited. I don't know if I can send her into the arena.

Trying to coach her is hard, and I think she thinks I'm disinterested, or that I don't remember who she is, but the truth is, she reminds me so much of family it makes my heart ache. It's when Quinn comes to talk to me that I finally pull myself together.

"What are you doing Santana?" I'm on the roof again, although I spend most of my time here.

"Huh? What?" I turn and look at her, confused.

"You're supposed to be getting this girl to like you, but Sue tells me you've barely said more than 4 words to her since you got here." She sighs.

"I know her, okay? I grew up next to her, we used to have family dinners together every Sunday." I try and put some bite into my voice but I can't. All the fights gone out of me.

"It reminds you of them, doesn't it?" I nod, so she continues. "You can't beat yourself up forever, Tana." It's the first time she's ever used a nickname with me, I smile slightly at it. "That's what I wanna see. Now, can you try, please?" She pouts a little. "For me?"

I chuckle at her, shoving her slightly with my shoulder. "Fine, for you." She smiles and leans her head on my shoulder, and we stay there for a while, watching the night.

I really do try after that, and things get more interesting when they have to display their skills to the gameskeepers. We're sat on our floor of the training center, with Peeta who's turned up 20 minutes ago, waiting for Katniss.

When she arrives, she goes straight to her room, slamming the door and locking it. We knock repeatedly, but she ignores us, so we give up and go away.

We send Effie to tap on her door and tell her dinners ready, she appears, her face red and blotchy.

We eat in silence until Sue pipes up. "So, how bad were you today?"

Peeta answers first, "I don't know that it mattered. By the time I showed up, no one even bothered to look at me. They were singing some kind of drinking song, I think. So, I threw around some heavy objects until they told me I could go."

Sue turns to Katniss, "And you, lady?"

"I shot an arrow at the Gamemakers."

Everyone looks shocked but I start to laugh. "You did what?"

"I shot an arrow at them. Not exactly at them. In their direction. It's like Peeta said, I was shooting and they were ignoring me and I just... I just lost my head, so I shot an apple out of their stupid roast pig's mouth!" She fumes.

"What did they say?" Effie's voice is grave, but I'm still laughing under my breath.

"Nothing, I don't know. I walked out after that."

"Without being dismissed?" I think Effie's having a stroke, and it's still hilarious.

"I dismissed myself." Katniss grumbles.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you" I chuckle, picking up a bread roll.


	3. Three

**This sucks, I know, and I'm sorry. I really wanted to update, and I'm so ill it's unbelievable.  
><strong>**The next chapter will be a lot better. Also, I feel you should know, there will be no Peeniss in this story. Because I hate it. ;D  
><strong>**Unsure of when my next update will be, I'll try for tomorrow, but if I'm still feeling this bad it's just gonna be a one word chapter, and the word will be 'vomit'  
><strong>**Thanks for reading and what not, enjoy!  
>Also, for any of my other readers, I will definitely update my Quitt fic tomorrow! I promise. <strong>

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><p>We're sitting in the lounge, waiting for the scores to be announced on television. We're all very full from dinner and sitting around in various states of relaxation. Katniss looks a lot happier than she did at dinner, and I find myself thankful for that.<p>

I take a drink from my glass of wine, ignoring the nagging in my head at letting Quinn down, although I'm not really sure why I'm bothered. The girl has a tendency to get under my skin.

The career tributes, score high, naturally. Most of the other districts average around 5, however, the little girl from district 11 gets a 7. I see Katniss's eyes darken, knowing she's already thinking about protecting the girl. I can see why, although they bear no resemblance to each other, she reminds me of Prim. They hold themselves in the same manner, and they're both so tiny. I know Katniss is thinking the same thing.

Peeta gets an 8, which is brilliant for district 12, but Katniss's mark blows us all away. Eleven! The gameskeepers must have seen the spark in her, knowing she'd make an excellent contestant.

"There must be a mistake. How . . . how could that happen?" She looks up at myself and Sue, eyes wide.

"They must have liked your temper. Add at bit of fire into the games." Sue replies.

They chatter a little more but I'm not really listening. I'm staring into my wine glass absently. I don't want Katniss to get killed trying to protect that little girl. Her name is Rue, I think. More girls named after flowers.

I corner her as she's retreating to her room.

"Have you been up to the roof yet?" I ask, and she looks taken aback, probably because I barely talk to her. She looks blankly at me.

"Come on." I grab her arm and tug her gently forward and up to the roof.

When we step out onto the bare tile, I move over to the railing at the edge. The streets are pretty empty tonight, in preparation for the interviews tomorrow.

"Why are we up here?" Katniss asks me, standing further away.

"It's nice up here while the streets are empty. Quiet. I spent loads of time before my games here, enjoying the quiet. It's a bit harder to get alone time back downstairs."

Katniss moves and stands next to me, resting her arms on the railing.

"I'd tell you not to make any alliances, but I know you'll ignore me. So try not to get too attached." I know I sound bitter, but I can't help myself.

"What are you talking about?" She knows though.

"The girl. Rue. I know you'll meet up with her eventually, if she survives the bloodbath. Just remember, you can't save everyone." I laugh cruelly. "Or anyone. Sometimes, not even yourself."

She's quiet for a minute, thinking about what I've said. "Does it ever get easier?" She asks, turning to look at me. "Losing someone you love?"

"No, it doesn't. It gets manageable. You can sort of push it to the back of your mind, try and forget it for a while, but it's always there, like a splinter you can't get out, stuck under your skin, irritating you." I sigh, turning to face her. "I know I haven't spoken to you, not since I won, not when you were reaped. And I'm sorry, it's just…" I let out an aggravated sigh. "For so long, you were like a sister to me, which was nice growing up with brothers, and I don't think I can stand to watch you die. Your family's been through enough. Hell, I've been through enough. I just want to be able to take you home, you know? I know you can do this Katniss, I know you can win, but you'll let your heart get involved, and it'll cloud your judgement. I know what that's like." I let out a shaky breath and sink down to the floor, back against the railing. Katniss sinks down next to me. "I didn't intend to leave the arena, you know? The minute a met her, I knew I was screwed, but I'd go down fighting if it meant she got to leave."

I heard Katniss sigh before she spoke. "I couldn't bear the thought of it, Prim going into the arena. She's so small, she'd be killed outright. She couldn't hurt a fly, but you know that."

"They need you Katniss, they need you to go home."

She stood up, and I rose with her. "You should probably go to bed, Effie will kill me if you look like crap before your interviews." She nodded and turned to walk away. I turned back to the railings, looking out over the night.

"Santana?" I turn to look at her and she's closer than I thought, wrapping her arms around my waist. "Look after them?"

"I won't need to Catnip, 'cause you're coming home." I hold her for a second before she breaks away.

"Thanks 'Tana." She turns without another word and walks back into the building.

I stay on the roof.


	4. Four

**Another short one, I'm sorry to say! But lots of Quinn and Santana interaction, yay! And more of gold ole' Sue.  
>Enjoy!<br>**

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><p>"How long have you been out here?" I turn to see Quinn standing about 10 feet away, looking at me. She walks up beside me and stands closer than usual, leaning on the railing next to me.<p>

"How long were you stood there?" I ask her, looking at her out of the corner of my eye.  
>"A while, I didn't think anyone would up here now, but you were, and you looked deep in thought, I didn't want to interrupt you." Her hand brushes against mine. "You're freezing Santana! Didn't you think to bring a coat?"<br>I shake my head then watch as she shrugs out of her jacket and tucks it round my arms. "Now you'll be cold."  
>"Nah, I'm tough." She flexes her arm a little, and I laugh despite my mood. "What's up, 'Tana?" She moves a little closer to me, nudging me with her shoulder. It's nice when she uses nicknames, although I'd never tell her that.<br>"I don't want her to die. She's the closest thing I have left to family now, and I've already lost so much." I sigh, hanging my head slightly. Quinn is quiet. I know she's thinking about her family too, about what happens when you disobey the Capitol.

The first time I'd disobeyed President Snow's orders, I'd come home to find my mother with a black eye. So I'd obeyed, for a while, did what he asked, until he'd asked too much. I'd said no, broken the guys arm in three places. And when I came home, the house was empty. No one knew what had happened to my family, except Sue, and Quinn. You don't betray the wishes of the president, and they'd learned the hard way.  
>So had I.<p>

"We'll fix this, 'Tana, I promise you. One day, this will all be a distant dream. No Capitol, no games, no more losing who we love." Without thinking, I rest my head on Quinns shoulder, and feel her tremble a little.  
>"Are you cold?" I move to take the jacket off. She grabs my hand to stop me.<br>"No, I'm fine, honestly…" She looks torn for a minute. "Can we just stay here? For a little while." I nod slightly, then put my head back onto her shoulder. She sighs softly and shifts a little before pulling an arm round me.

We stay like that til sunrise, and I know that Effie is going to kill me when I look like crap for the interviews.  
>We get in the lift together, and when I get out at my floor, I turn to look at Quinn.<br>"See you at show time!" She whispers, then smiles before the doors slide closed.

I quickly run to my room to get changed then head to the dining room. I grab a cup of coffee and sit holding my head as the avoxs mill around me, still setting up breakfast.  
>When Sue walks in, she catches sight of me and laughs. "Effie is going to kill you, Sandbags."<br>I scoff at her as she sits next to me, then put my head down on the table. I won't even have time for a nap. "I was talking to Q, it got late."  
>Peeta comes into the room first, sitting down at the table with a very serious expression on his face.<br>"What's up doughboy?" Sue raises an eyebrow at his expression. I don't think I like this kid very much.  
>"I'd like you to coach me separately from Katniss, if it's possible." He replies, looking down at his hands.<br>"Why?" My heads up off the table and I'm eyeing him curiously.  
>"I don't want her to know what I'm going to say in my interview. She can't know until I say it."<br>"What are you gonna say, exactly?" This comes from Sue.  
>"That I love her, and that I have loved her from the first moment I saw her."<p>

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><p><strong>Also, if you're reading this without first reading The Odds Were Never in Our Favour, I would recommend going and reading it, because this will all make more sense.<strong>

xoxo gossipliz.


	5. Five

Katniss walks into the dining room soon after, huffing slightly. She sits down and starts shovelling food in her mouth, but we all remain quiet.

"So, what's going on? You're coaching us on interviews today,right?"

"That's right, dusty." I don't know why Sue's making coal jokes, we're all from the same district.

"You don't have to wait until I'm done. I can listen and eat at the same time," she tells us, looking up from her food.

"Well, there's been a change of plan, about our current approach." I tell her, swirling the coffee in my cup around.

"What's that?" She sounds confused.

"Peeta has been asked to be coached separately." Sue tells her.

Katniss looks confused at first, but her expression quickly changes to something between angry and hurt. She stays like that for a second before a carefully blank mask take over her face.

"Good, so what's the schedule?" She asks, starting to push the food around her plate.

"2 hours with Effie for presentation, 2 hours with Sue and myself for content, then you belong to Cinna." I nod slightly. "You're starting with Effie, Katniss."

When we've finished eating, Effie leaves with Katniss trailing behind. I can already tell she's going to hate what Effie has planned. We head to another room with Peeta, who doesn't really need any coaching, he's very charismatic, and talk through what he wants to say during his interview, and how he wants to play it.

We head back for an early lunch 2 hours later, and Katniss stomps into the room, ball gown hitched up to her thighs so she can walk. I can't help but laugh at her, and when she glares at me, I laugh more. We're going to have our work cut out, I'm sure.

After lunch, we take Katniss to the sitting room, and point her to a couch, while we look at her for a while, trying to figure out what to do with her.

"What?" She asks after a while, blush creeping up her neck.

"We're trying to figure out what to do with you." I tell her.

"How we're going to present you. Are you going to be charming? Aloof? Fierce? So far, you're shining like a star. You volunteered to save your sister. Cinna made you look unforgettable. You've got the top training score. People are intrigued, but no one knows who you are. The impression you make later on will decide exactly what I can get you in terms of sponsors," Sue continues, still frowning at her.

She looks thoughtful for a second. "What's Peeta's approach? Or am I not allowed to ask?"

"Likable. He has a sort of self-deprecating humor naturally," says Sue. "Whereas when you open your mouth, you come across more as sullen and hostile."

"I don't not!" She protests.

"Please. I don't know where you pulled that cheery, wavy girl on the chariot from, but I haven't seen her before or since," Sue scoffs.

"And you've given me so many reasons to be cheery," Katniss counters, and I can feel the annoyance coming off her in waves.

"But you don't have to please me. I'm not going to sponsor you. So pretend I'm the audience," says Sue. "Delight me."

"Fine." Katniss practically barks back. We take turns interviewing her for about half an hour before I speak up again.

"All right, enough," I tell her. "We've got to find another angle. Not only are you hostile, I don't know anything about you. I've asked you fifty questions and still have no sense of your life, your family, what you care about. They want to know about you, Katniss."

"But I don't want them to! They're already taking my future! They can't have the things that mattered to me in the past!" My heart breaks a little when she says this, and I can't find the words to continue. Sue jumps in though, saving me.

"Then lie! Make something up!" she tells Katniss.

"I'm not good at lying." Katniss replies. Of course she isn't. Poor sweet Katniss, she's never lied in her life.

"Well, you better learn. And fast. You've got about as much charm as a dead slug." Even I feel like sting from that one. "You think this is hard? I'm passing a gallstone as we speak!" My eyebrows raise slightly at that one.

"Try acting humble." I tell her.

"Humble." She echos.

"Yeah, like you can't believe this is happening to you. That a girl from district 12 has done this well. Talk about how great the Capitol is, how great Cinna's clothes are. How nice people are. Gush."

By the end of the session we've run through every way we can think to play her, humble, cocky, witty, funny, sexy. She's none of those things.

"I give up, Robin Hood. Just answer the questions and try not to let the audience see how openly you despise them." Sue tells her, shaking her head.

After that we hand her off to the prep team, and go our separate ways. As usually, I end up on the roof. There's a blonde figure up there this time, sitting with her feet pushed through the railings, but it isn't Quinn.

It's Johanna.


	6. Six

**I'm trying my best to keep up to date with these, but having a puppy is like having a new born. She is driving me insane! However, here is chapters 6 and 7 for all of you lovely people. LOVE YOU.**

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><p>I know she can hear me approach, but she doesn't turn. I thread my feet through the railing and sit next to her.<p>

"Santana." She sort of nods in my direction without turning.

"Johanna." I feel awkward, not knowing what to say to her. "How are you?"

"I'm just fucking peachy" She sounds angry. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the interviews?"

"Shouldn't you?" I counter, looking at her. She's been crying.

"Yeah, but I don't really feel like it." She looks back at me, "You look like shit San."

"I know, didn't really get any sleep, not that you're one to talk." She laughs at that.

"It's the first year without anyone to go home to. I'm feeling a little lost. How do you do it?" She rubs at the back of her hand with her eye.

"I don't really know. There isn't some magic answer. Everyone deals with it differently. I drink, Q is cool and aloof. Sue's a bitch." She laughs again at that last part.

"I think I'll be the slut, you know? At least there'll be something warm to go home to." She nods to herself before leaning back and pulling her legs through the railing. She stands, then offers me her hand. "It'll change though, right?"

"Yeah, it'll change." I take her hand and let her pull me up. "We'll make sure of it."

"How are things in 12?" She asks, looking genuinely curious.

"Shit." I tell her honestly. "There's not enough spark there. No fire. No one wants to rebel because there's nothing to rebel for. What about 7?"

"Everyone's riled up, actually. Looking for change. That's the thing about the middle districts. They know enough of the others to know they want more." She lets go of my hand and smiles at me slightly. "See you on the floor" She heads back towards the door, and I wait a little longer, watching the sun move lazily across the sky.

By the time I get back down to the floor assigned to us, there's lots of activity, and almost immediately I'm pulled away to be prepped for the interview. I don't like my new stylist, or the other prep teams we've been given. I miss mine. I miss Will, who's now living out towards the edge of the district with Emma and their baby. We talk on the phone sometimes, and they're happy, which I'm glad for. I can't help wishing he were here on nights like tonight though.

We all meet up in front of the elevator when we're ready. Katniss looks stunning, and listens to Effie blabber on a little mindlessly about it but avoids my eyes. I know she's mad about earlier, and even though it wasn't me who said it, she knows that Sue and I are a team.

When we reach the ground floor, where the interviews are being held, we hand her off to some staff who take her to be lined up, ready to be seated in the big arc the tributes sit in, and move to our own seats just across the stage. I sit next to Sue, and on the other side of me is Chaff, a victor from district 11. The tend to try and sit us boy-girl, but our district hasn't had a male tribute in so long that Sue and I are the only victors the district have.

Johanna enters soon after us, and sits down next to Blight, although she ignores him and leans over to chatter to Finnick, who's looking a little skinner than the last time I saw him. He's the only one involved with us who does what the Capitol asks, and even then it's just to protect Annie.

Quinn comes in last, looking beautiful and dangerous in a dark dress, and sits down quietly, ignoring her fellow mentor, and everyone around her. She throws me a wink though, and I feel myself blush, despite trying to act cool. I see her lips quirk a little and resist the urge to take of my shoe and launch it at her.


	7. Seven

We sit through the interviews , trying to keep an interested face although we're bored as soon as Artie takes the stage. He's as charming as ever, keeping the audience laughing before district 1s female tribute takes the stage. I fight back the urge to yawn as he drawls off question after question to each tribute until Katniss takes the stage. She looks a little like a deer on a train track, while the train is approaching fast.

"So, Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District 12. What's impressed you most since you arrived here?" asks Artie. She look confused for a minute, and glances up to Cinna, who gives her a reassuring smile.

"The lamb stew," She tells him, and Artie laughs, along with some of the audience.

"The one with the dried plums?" asks Caesar. I nod. "Oh, I eat it by the bucketful." He turns sideways to the audience in horror, hand on his stomach. "It doesn't show, does it?" The audience shout reassurances and cheer. Artie always tries to help you out.

"Now, Katniss," he says confidentially, "When you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped. What did you think of that costume?"

I see her look at Cinna again, who raises an eyebrow. "You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?" The audience laughs again, louder.

"Yes. Start then," says Artie.

"I thought Cinna was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I'd ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it. I can't believe I'm wearing this, either." She lifts up her skirt a little, fanning it out. "I mean, look at it!"

The audience makes some appreciative noises, and Artie motions for her to twirl, which she does. And it's amazing, she looks like she's on fire. Not burning brightly, but twinkling like the dying embers in a coal fire. The audience is amazed as well.

"Do it again!" Artie laughs, and she spins a few more times. "Don't stop!"

"I have too, I'm dizzy!" She's got the audience eating out of the palm of her hand, and I smile widely. That's our girl!

Artie wraps an arm around her. "Don't worry, I've got you. It's all right," Artie reassures her and the crowd. "She's safe with me. So, how about that training score. E-le-ven. Give us a hint at what happened in there."

Katniss looks shy for a minute, and looks up to the gameskeepers balcony. "Um . . . all I can say, is I think it was a first."

The gameskeepers chuckle and nod, which is a good sign.

"You're killing me! Details." Artie looks up to the gameskeepers as well.

"I'm not supposed to talk about it, right?" Katniss asks in their direction.

"No, she's not!" Comes a reply for the back of the balcony. I bet that was the guy that fell in the punch bowl. I supress a chuckle.

"Thank you," Katniss replies. "Sorry. My lips are sealed."

"Let's go back then, to the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping," says Artie. His mood is quieter now. "And you volunteered. Can you tell us about her?"

She looks thoughtfully at Cinna. "Her name's Prim. She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything."

It's so quiet here now, if I screamed everyone in the audience would probably have a heart attack.

"What did she say to you? After the reaping?" Arite asks.

"She asked me to try really hard to win." The audience is frozen, hanging on her every word.

"And what did you say?" prompts Artie gently.

"I swore I would." Her voice is icy.

"I bet you did," says Caesar, reaching over to squeeze her hand lightly. The buzzer goes off. "Sorry we're out of time. Best of luck, Katniss Everdeen, tribute from District Twelve."

The audience goes wild, screaming and cheering long after she's taken her seat.

Peeta gets up next, charming as ever, the audience laughs and cheers along with him. He plays the part of the bakers son, comparing bread to tributes, then tells a funny story about a shower. I'm not really listening because I know what's coming next.

"Do you have a girlfriend back home?" Artie asks him. Some of the girls in the audience lean forward, like he's not going to die in the next few days.

Peeta hesitates for a second before shaking his head.

"Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" says Artie.

Peeta sighs. "Well, there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping."

Sounds of sympathy from the crowd. Unrequited love theycan relate to.

"She have another fellow?" asks Artie.

"I don't know, but a lot of boys like her," says Peeta.

"So, here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" says Artie encouragingly.

"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning . . . won't help in my case," says Peeta.

"Why ever not?" says Artie, mystified.

Here it comes. I feel sorry for Katniss already.

Peeta blushes beet red and stammers out. "Because . . . because. . . she came here with me."


	8. Eight

**Sorry this has taken me so long guys! I have a respiratory infection, apparently, so I'm not feeing so clever atm. I'm trying though! This is a pretty long chapter, for me. And I'll try and continue to write until I feel like passing out again.  
><strong>**There's definitely some Quinntana goodness coming up, I promise. :) **

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><p>Katniss's face is a mixture of shock, embarrassment and horror. I can see Sue nodding subtly out of the corner of my eye, and one of the mentors from the other districts hand has shot up over her mouth. Quinns eyes narrow like she's thinking about something, and Johanna laughs under her breath. I want to smack her in the back of the head.<p>

"Oh, that is a piece of bad luck," says Artie, and there's a real edge of pain in his voice. The crowd is murmuring in agreement, a few have even given agonized cries.

"It's not good," agrees Peeta.

"Well, I don't think any of us can blame you. It'd be hard not to fall for that young lady," says Artie, smiling slightly. "She didn't know?"

Peeta shakes his head. "Not until now."

Katniss's eyes flicker up to the screen for a second before they return to her lap.

"Wouldn't you love to pull her back out here and get a response?" Artie asks the audience. The crowd screams assent. "Sadly, rules are rules, and Katniss Everdeen's time has been spent. Well, best of luck to you, Peeta Mellark, and I think I speak for all of Panem when I say our hearts go with yours."

Peeta returns to his seat, then we all stand for the anthem. All the screens in the square are filled with images of Katniss and Peeta, two star crossed lovers.

We return to the training center soon after, and just as my lift doors are closing, Katniss slides through them, ignoring me completely. She looks absolutely furious.

As soon as we're on the floor, she's out of the elevator cab, and into Peeta's face. She slams her hands into his chest and he goes sprawling into an awkwardly places table, knocking off the vase that was resting on it. He lands in its shattered remains, blood spewing from his hands almost immediately.

"What was that for?" he says, aghast.

"You had no right! No right to go saying those things about me!" She shouts at him.

Now the elevators open and the whole crew is there, Effie, Sue, Cinna, and Portia.

"What's going on?" says Effie, a note of hysteria in her voice. "Did you fall?"

"After she shoved me," says Peeta as Effie and Cinna help him up.

Sue turns on her. "Shoved him?"

"This was your idea, wasn't it? Turning me into some kind of fool in front of the entire country?" Katniss answers.

"It was my idea," says Peeta, wincing as he pulls spikes of pottery from his palms. "Sue just helped me with it."

"Yes, Sue is very helpful. To you!" Katniss replies.

"You are a fool," Sue says in disgust. "Do you think he hurt you? That boy just gave you something you could never achieve on your own."

"He made me look weak!" Katniss says.

"He made you look desirable! And let's face it, you can use all the help you can get in that department. You were about as romantic as dirt until he said he wanted you. Now they all do. You're all they're talking about. The star-crossed lovers from District Twelve!" says Sue.

"But we're not star-crossed lovers!" Katniss cries.

Sue grabs my shoulders and pins me against the wall. "Who cares? It's all a big show. It's all how you're perceived. The most I could say about you after your interview was that you were nice enough, although that in itself was a small miracle. Now I can say you're a heartbreaker. Oh, oh, oh, how the boys back home fall longingly at your feet. Which do you think will get you more sponsors?"

She shoves Sues hands away angrily and paces a little.

I move over to her and place an arm around her. "She's right, Katniss."

"I should have been told, so I didn't look so stupid." She sighs.

"No, your reaction was perfect. If you'd known, it wouldn't have read as real," says Portia.

"She's just worried about her boyfriend," says Peeta gruffly,tossing away a bloody piece of the urn.

"I don't have a boyfriend."

"Whatever," says Peeta. "But I bet he's smart enough to know a bluff when he sees it. Besides you didn't say you loved me. So what does it matter?"

Katniss looks like she's considering this for a moment before she replies. "After he said he loved me, did you think I could be in love with him, too?"

"I did," says Portia. "The way you avoided looking at the cameras, the blush."

The rest of the people in the room make noises of agreement. I remain silent though.

"You're golden, sweetheart. You're going to have sponsors lined up around the block," says Sue, looking like she could actually smile.

She turns to Peeta, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry I shoved you."

"Doesn't matter," he shrugs, "Although it's technically illegal."

"Are your hands okay?" She asks him, frowning slightly.

"They'll be all right," he tells her.

The arguments stop as the smell of dinner wafts in from the dining room. Before we begin to eat, Portia takes Peeta for medical attention, as his hands are bleeding heavily. They're back before our starter is over though. I don't know what to make of the day's events, it's definitely been a long one.

After dinner has finished, we sit down to watch the replay in silence. Katniss is worried about how she appeared during her interview, but we all assure her she was charming.

After the anthem finishes, the room goes quiet.

This will be last time any of us see the tributes until after the games, and it's hard. Everyone's taken a shine to both of them, even if I think Peeta is a little creepy, and we don't know if either of them will be coming home.

Effie is the first to say goodbye, taking them both by the hand and actually showing some real emotion, which is rare. She gushes about them being the best tributes she's had until she ruins it by tacking on the end. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if I finally get promoted to a decent district next year!" It wouldn't be Effie if she didn't say something unintentionally awful. She kisses them both on the cheek before rushing from the room.

Sue crosses her arms, looking down at both of our tributes and pouting a little.

"Any final words of advice?" Peeta ask her.

"When the gong sounds, get the hell out of there. You're neither of you up to the blood bath at the Cornucopia. Just clear out, put as much distance as you can between yourselves and the others, and find a source of water," he says. "Got it Doughboy? Coal girl?"

"And after that?" Katniss asks.

"Stay alive." I tell her, leaving the room.


	9. Nine

When I reach my room, the effects of not sleeping the night before grip me hard, and I tumble into bed without getting undressed. I fall asleep soon after, but my dreams are as restless as my sleep.

My dreams are filled with Katniss. Katniss being hacked apart by the tributes, Katniss being killed by mutations. The last dream before I wake up is the worst though.

I'm in the arena again, hunting for food when I feel something. Every nerve in my body is telling me something is wrong. I start running, although I'm not sure where I'm running to until I hit a break in the trees. I'm at the clearing in the arena, the one we found just before the end of the games. Just before I won.

A feeling of dread hits me, and I hear someone cry out. Katniss is in the middle of the clearing, lay where Britt lay, knife sticking out of her shoulder. She looks at me, eyes wide, and screams for me to run. I'm frozen in place though, as I watch President Snow appear from the bushes, mouth dripping blood and leaving a sea of roses in his wake. He walks straight over to Katniss and stops, smiling down at her with bloody teeth.

He brings up a knife before driving it into her body. I wake up in a cold sweat.

After I've recovered from the dream, I get out of bed and head to the shower. I'm lazily clicking at buttons until an ice cold wall of water hits me, followed by foul smelling foam. I gag and fumble at the buttons until I get the water back, then try and salvage my shower.

20 minutes later, I'm walking down to the dining room, feeling worse than I did when I woke up. I couldn't get the stink from that foam out of my hair. I sit down at the table without getting any food, and rest my head on the table. Sue is sitting next to me, eyeing me.

"What's up Jugs the Clown, couldn't sleep with the weight of those airbags on your chest?" She asks me, laughing at herself.

I lift my head up, noticing that the avox girl has poured me some coffee. I smile at her and take a big gulp. "No, just couldn't sleep."

"Well, you better hurry up with breakfast, we've gotta be down in the Center by nine." She tells me, taking a sip from her own cup.

"Oh yes, another thrilling day down at the meat market." I roll my eyes and drain my coffee cup before standing. "Come on then, don't want to keep the camera's waiting, do we?"

I know the score for today, we'll smile for the camera's, talk about how good our tributes are, and how they need sponsors, before going out into the public and trying to drum up some support. I hate days like today.

We get in the elevator and watch the doors slide closed, and I sigh, despite trying my hardest not to. I know today's going to be harder than any of the other days. We stop at floor seven, and the doors slide open. Johanna slides in and quickly hits the button for the doors to close before standing next to me.

"In a hurry, Johanna?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.

"I just don't want to ride with Blight, I've got to spend all day with that moron, and I'd like a couple of minutes to myself." She spits at me.

I can hear Sue chuckling behind me.

The doors open again at floor one, and Quinn floats into the elevator. "Sue, Johanna." She stands on the other side of me, looking down at the chain around my neck. "Santana."

I mumble a greeting at her, avoiding eye contract. I can feel a blush creeping up my neck, but I push it back down. Now is not the time to be acting like a giddy school girl.

When the doors slide open again, we're barely out of the cab before the tv crew descends on us, taking us off to various locations for our interviews.

I sigh deeply as people flap around me, knowing my day will be long.


	10. Ten

We're given 3 minutes of the stage to gush as much as possible before we're scooted off. We mostly play on the confession Peeta made, and Katniss's fire. This is more for the people in the districts than in the Capitol, trying to drum up support from the wealthier districts.

After the interviews are over, and Artie has left the stage, all the screens the Center go black before Panem emblem is displayed.

Then the screen switches to cameras placed in the arena, showing each of the tributes standing on their metal plate. I keep my eyes on Katniss, who's looking around the tributes, and then back at the Cornucopia, to a bow and set of arrows sitting right in her eye line. I know what she's thinking. I can practically see the wheels turning in her head. So can Sue, apparently.

"Don't you even dare, girl." I hear her mumble from beside me.

It's no use though, the minute the gong chimes, she off the plate and running towards the Cornucopia. I knew she'd never listen, but I didn't think she'd be this stupid. My fingers find the chain around my neck, and run along the cool metal as I watch her run to her death.

I watch her reach for the same pack as a boy from district 9 before blood explodes from his mouth, covering her. He drops to the floor and she picks up the pack before noticing the knife in his back. Then she looks up. The girl from district 2, Clove, I think her name was, is advancing on her, clutching a handful of knifes.

She turns and runs, pushing the pack up to protect her head just as the knife Clove has just thrown hits, lodging in her pack. She makes it to the trees though, and no one follows. I feel like cheering.

"Your girls done good." I jump, startled by the voice behind me. I look over my shoulder to see Quinn smiling at me softly.

"Yeah, well, so has yours." I motion to the screen where Glimmer, the female tribute from district one, is hacking at another tribute. Quinn just raises her eyebrow at me. I laugh.

We look at each other for a minute, something unreadable in her eyes before she clears her throat. "Better be off," she tells me, smiling again. "Don't want to miss out on the sponsors." She disappears through the crowd.

I wander through the crowd myself, charming anyone and everyone. They're all very excited about Katniss, and I can hear the grumbles of some people who are thinking about sponsoring her. I target those people, using my best fake smile and girly giggles I know these Capitol idiots love.

I'm sitting down to dinner when they set of the first canon shots. Eleven. Their faces flash up as Sue and I eat, and I'm glad to see that Katniss and, to a lesser extent, Peeta, are still alive. One of the things about the Capitol is they show the Games all day, every day, until the last tribute is left. We're expected to watch as much as possible, especially when we still have tributes left in the game.

We sit and watch Katniss walk a little longer, before she stops to rifle through the pack she took. She looks disappointed, probably because there's no water.

She takes the knife and peels away a layer of the bark on the tree. I smile. Back home, if you're out hunting and you're hungry, bark is the perfect snack.

We watch her set two snares before she climbs up into a tree for the night.

Peeta, on the other hand, is doing a little better. He's formed an alliance with the careers, and I'm not sure why. Is it part of his plan, to join the careers and lead them right to Katniss? Has he been fooling us all along. I'm not sure.

I excuse myself, saying I'm going to bed, but I end up on the roof again.


	11. Eleven

**This is so short and bad, but I'm sorry. I'll post a better one over the weekend. My friends been staying with me all week, so I haven't really had a chance to write anything. Love u.**

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><p>I've been on the roof for about 20 minutes when I hear the door creak, followed by soft foot falls as someone crosses the tile toward me. "Santana."<p>

"Quinn. I just can't get away from you today, can I?" I ask as she sits down next to me.

"I guess not." I feel her shuffle a little beside me, but I keep my eyes on the screens in the street. "So, your boy's made an alliance with my tributes, what do you think of that?" She asks me, following my line of sight to a screen which is displaying a sleeping Katniss.

"I don't know" I sigh. "He never said anything about an alliance. I know it's the smart thing to do, but I don't know what his motives are." I'm playing with the necklace Quinn gave to me again. "Why did you give me this?" I pull the necklace up with my hands. "I assumed you'd tell me, eventually. But you never did."

Quinn sighs, then reaches out to touch the necklace, running her finger along it. "I knew you'd win. The minute I set eyes on you, I knew it. But then you met Brittany, and I wasn't so sure. Either way, I wanted you to have something. Something to remember me by, I guess? You reminded me of me, so much, and I was so lonely in the arena, and after I left." Her face turns out toward the sky, and I can see the scowl adorning her beautiful features in the moonlight. "The Capitol, they act liking winning is the best thing that could happen to you, but when I left, I was so lonely I wish that I had died in the arena. I just didn't want you to feel alone." She sighs and drops her head.

Without really thinking about it, I lean over and press a kiss into her temple. "Thank you."

I lean my head on her shoulder, and she sighs again, softly this time, and her arm snakes out around me.

We sit in silence, watching the screens for a while until Quinn speaks again. "We're having a meeting tomorrow night." She informs me, not taking her eyes away from the screen.

"In the usual place?" I ask, watching her from the corner of my eye. She nods slightly. I slide back from where I'm sitting, and offer a hand to Quinn, who takes it and pulls herself up. "I guess I'll see you there then."

She looks at me for a second, before leaning forward and pressing her lips against my cheek. I close my eyes and when I open them, she's gone.


	12. Twelve

**This took a while to update again, and I'm sorry. Had some mad creative block, but I'm writing now and hopefully I'll have a few chapters under my belt by the end of the day. Enjoy!  
><strong>

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><p>I'm up well before dawn, having only managed little more than an hours sleep. I sit in front of the television, hands wrapped around a mug of coffee, and watch the Career tributes trudge through the forest.<p>

They'd seen smoke from a fire a while ago, and had been following the trail when I'd turned the tv on.

The get closer and closer to the girl, who is completely unaware, unable to hear their footfalls over the crackling of the fire and before she knows what's hit her, she's dead. She begs a little, as anyone in that situation would do, but they kill her anyway.

I hate watching the kills, I see Brittany's face on every one of the tributes that die. Thinking of Brittany makes me feel strangely guilty lately, for reasons I'm not sure I can place. My strengthening relationship with Quinn? Or the fact that I'm still alive? I'm not sure.

I turn my attention back to the television, just as the careers pass right under Katniss's tree, where she's been sleeping for the night.

I can see her eyes widen slightly when she realises the careers have stopped to argue about 10 feet away. I know she can't possibly see them in the dark of the forest, and I hope they move along before she realises who's with them.

"Shouldn't we have heard the cannon by now?"

"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately."

"Unless she isn't dead."

"She's dead. I stuck her myself."

"Then where's the cannon?"

"Someone should go back. Make sure the job's done."

"Yeah, we don't want to have to track her down twice."

"I said she's dead!"

An argument breaks out until Peeta silences the others. "We're wasting time! I'll go finish her and let's move on!"

I see Katniss's face drop in realisation and curse to myself, she knows exactly where Peeta is now.

Peeta trots off to find the tribute they'd attacked a moment ago, and while I'm waiting for him to return, Sue enters the room and sits down next to me.

"What's going on Boobs Magoo?" She asks, signalling an attendant to bring her coffee.

"Katniss has found out about Peeta teaming up with the careers. Apparently surprised like this, she's half fallen out of the tree she was sleeping in."

I hear Sue chuckle, and we both watch the television in silence.

"Why don't we just kill him now and get it over with?"

"Let him tag along. What's the harm? And he's handy with that knife."

"Besides, he's our best chance of finding her."

They're obviously referring to Katniss.

"Why? You think she bought into that sappy romance stuff?"

"She might have. Seemed pretty simpleminded to me. Every time I think about her spinning around in that dress, I want to puke."

"Wish we knew how she got that eleven."

"Bet you Lover Boy knows."

The sound of Peeta returning silences them.

"Was she dead?" asks the boy from District 2.

"No. But she is now," says Peeta. Just then, the cannon fires. "Ready to move on?"

The careers run off into the forest as dawn begins to break, leaving Katniss to untangle herself from the tree.

I drain the rest of my coffee and stand up, stretching. "Well, I better get ready for another day of fawning over absolute morons."

I take a long time in the shower, standing under the hottest water available and letting it scorch my skin. Part of me is angry about the day I have ahead of me, and the other part is thinking about Quinn.

When I realise that I've been replaying her kissing my cheek for the past ten minutes, I shake my head angrily and shut off the shower. It's definitely why I've been feeling so guilty about Britt lately. I know she wouldn't want me to mope about, spend the rest of my life drinking away the sorrow that I felt. But still, I feel like I'm betraying her.

I sit on the edge of my bath and shake my head again. I'm talking like I have feelings for Quinn. Do I have feelings for Quinn?

I stop my train of thought where it is, and hop up and into my bedroom, dressing in a low cut top. It's always the best way to get the attention of the sponsors, flaunting yourself.

When I leave my room and walk to the elevator, I find Sue waiting for me. She raises her eyebrows at my outfit, but never the less, stays silent, calling the elevator and riding down with me.


	13. Thirteen

**I HAVE RETURNED. Sorry it's taken me so long to update this, but my dog ate my laptop charger, ha. But now I have a new charger, and I actually feel like writing, so here we go!  
><strong>**Thank you for being patient, and for reading, it warms me 'eart, it does.  
><strong>**I hope you've all seen THG by now as well! I've watched it multiple times, and cried like a little bitch baby, multiple times.  
><strong>**ANYWAY, happy reading!**

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><p>After spending most of the day watching Katniss wander through the forest, and talking to the slimy rich people that live in the Capitol, I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was curl up in my bed and sleep forever, but we had business to attend to.<p>

Usually, we're supposed to stay inside the training center for the duration of the games, but the Capitol peacekeepers turn a blind eye when we leave murmuring things about decent alcohol and wanting to see the night life.

During the games, the Capitol is buzzing with activity, no matter the time of day, so it's easy to slip through the crowds without being noticed, as long as we're alone.

The year after I'd won, Sue and I had made the mistake of leaving together, resulting in us being swamped for the better part of an hour, and we quickly learned from it, and from that point, we left alone, 10 minutes apart to make sure we weren't in the same place at the same time.

I slip through the crowded streets until I come to an old bar, where I push the door open and slide through the gap. The barman, an ex-gamemaker who hates the Capitol almost as much as I do, nods to me as I slink up to the bar. He pours me my usual drink, then motions over his shoulder to a bookcase. I already know the drill of course, and step around the bar, pushing the bookcase open enough to slip though, and hear it bang back into place.

I'm the last person to arrive, Sue is sitting next to Finnick, who is wearing as little as possible, as usual. The only free seat is next to Quinn, and I slump down into it, feeling as awkward as possible.

Quinn clears her throat once I'm comfortable. "Well, we all know why we're here, so let's just get on with it." She turns and looks at a man towards the back of the room. "Plutarch, I believe you've got some news for us?"

The man stands and walks into the lighter part of the room. "Well, as you know, with the help of Wiress and Beetee, we've been working underground to find out the fate of District 13, which we all know was 'destroyed' (he actually makes quote marks in the air) in The Dark Days." He pauses, and looks around. Definitely a Capitol man. "Last night, Beetee managed to make contact with them. He spoke to the president there, a woman named Coin, and they're very much alive and kicking. And willing to join our cause. They know of the games, of what happens every year, and they want to help. "

"Even though they've all but abandoned us?" I mumble, looking into my drink.

"It's not that simple, Miss Lopez, they were given an ultimatum, and they took it, trying to preserve their own lives. I think most of the other Districts would've done the same at the time. However, now they're in a position to help us, and we'd be stupid not to accept their help."

I know he's right, but I can't help but feel betrayed.

"What can they even offer us?" This is from Finnick, he looks as pissed off as I feel. "Weren't they just a mining district? Like 12?"

"That's what the Capitol want you to believe." Plutarch tells him, eyes wide. "But you've seen the pictures of 13 before The Dark Days, seen how large it was. Larger than 8. How could a mining district support that much people, 12 is tiny, and it's people still starve." He looks pointedly in my direction before he continues. "Weapons. And not the ones like 2 makes. Real weapons. Nuclear, and far more than the Capitol have. That's why they bargained in The Dark Days. Think about it, if they would've attacked the Capitol, the Capitol would've struck back, and half of Panem would be lost. So they waited, bided their time, and now they're strong. Strong enough to help us."

The words sink in around the room, and we realise what Plutarch is saying. For the first time since our cause has started, we actually had some hope of real change.


	14. Fourteen

After that we move to the front of the bar, to play up to our part of the lie to the peacekeepers, and drink. I'm quite pleasantly buzzed when I decide to make my way back to the training center. I bid Stealus, the ex-gamemaker/barkeep goodbye, and stumble out into the night.

It's colder than I remember it being when I left the training center, but I begin the trudge back to my makeshift home.

I've been walking for about five minutes when I feel a warm hand slip into the crook of my arm, I look up to see Quinn smiling at me, obviously drunk.

"Aren't you scared of us being mobbed by 'fans'?" I ask her, copying Plutarch's air quotes. She giggles.

"I don't think anyone is really looking for the pair of us together, 'Tana." She smiles and tugs at my arm, and I realise I'd stopped walking.

We walk slowly through the gradually thinning out crowds on the streets of the Capitol, chatting idly about this and that. The entire walk back to the training center I'm painfully aware of her hand resting against my arm, and the warmness I feel radiating from it. I can barely concentrate and what Quinn is saying to me, instead focusing on the heat of her skin against mine, and wondering how the rest of her skin feels.

Try as I might, I can't escape these thoughts, even though they still make me feel guilty as hell.

"'Tana? You gonna get that?" I hear her raspy voice ask me, and when I snap out of my thoughts, I realise we're standing in front of the elevator in the training center.

"Oh, sorry!" I chuckle, embarrassed. "I kinda zoned out there for a minute." I lean over slightly and click the button. Quinn is humming a familiar sounding tune under her breath.

Once we're safely in the cab, Quinn turns to face me, eyes burning with something I can't quite put my finger on.

I open my mouth to make a joke about awkward silences but before I can get a word in, she surges forward, covering my mouth with her own. Her lips are soft on mine, and my head swims at the sensation. Her tongue darts out and sweeps across my bottom lip, and I moan slightly, leaning further into the kiss.

Then the bell for her floor rings, and she darts out the cab, leaving me standing stock still, eyes still closed.

By the time I'm standing in front of the mirror in my own bathroom, it hits me fully. Quinn just kissed me. On the mouth. With tongue. I look at myself in the mirror, and raise my hand to my lips, remembering the smell of her skin so close to me. I find myself blushing slightly.

I fall into bed smiling.


	15. Fifteen

**Imagine if I put these at the start of every chapter?  
><strong>**Also, I know these are short chapters but I write better like that. **  
><strong>And I like reviews, they reach me in my warm and squishy places.<strong>

**ok**

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><p>The smiling doesn't last long.<p>

As soon as I'm asleep, my nightmares are back in full force. I see Brittany again, lying in the field where she died, still pinned to the ground, but instead of Rachel coming out of the cave, its Quinn. This shifts to images of Quinn beating Blaine to death under the tree I'm perched in, and even Quinn ripping the sword through Jesse's chest.

I wake up in a cold sweat, with a pounding head.

It becomes apparent when I'm showering that the headache is from alcohol, and not from the dream. I dress slowly then shuffle down to the dining room and slump into a chair.

One of our attendants, the red haired avox, smiles sympathetically at me and disappears from the room. She reappears a minute later carrying a tube of pills, and places them down in front of me.

I look up at her and smile, mumbling a thank you, when I really see her face for the first time.

I try to avoid looking at them, the avox's, because they make me feel terrible just by looking at them. But it's the look in her eyes, the look of pure terror, which stops my hand from reaching for the bottle of pills. She must be about the age of Katniss, if a little older. She's pretty. I want to sweep her up in my arms and run away with her, hide her from the Capitol and the monsters that inhabit it, but I don't, instead I reach out and rub her arm. She flinches, then smiles a little when she realises I'm not going to hit her.

This poor girl, she could've had her entire life ahead of her, but they've ruined it now. I feel a fire spark in my stomach and slowly spread along my body. The fire of the rebellion in full bloom.

By the time Sue is up and nursing her own hangover, I'm sitting in front of the television, leaning forward with a mug of coffee clutched in both hands. Sue sits down next to me and rubs at the bridge of her nose before turning her attention to the screen.

Katniss is groggy, she's moving slowly and she's obviously dehydrated. She stops and looks around before saying the word "Water" as loud as she can muster.

I know she's talking to us.

"Should we send her some?" I ask Sue, looking away from the screen momentarily.

"Not yet. She's stronger than that. She'll find it." I want to protest, but something about Sue's tone tells me not to argue with her.

We watch for a little while longer before I leave to get ready.

By late afternoon, part of me is sure Katniss is going to die, and I'm itching to send her water but Sue refuses.

She's so close when she finally stumbles and falls into the muddy ground. I stop my conversation midway through and look up at the screen. She's drawing patterns with her fingers in the mud, not realising that it's actually mud she's lay in.

Then her eyes fly open and she looks around wildly before getting to her feet and scrambling along, coming to a stop just in front of a pond. She looks amazed.

I'm proud of her when she takes out her flask and scoops up some water, adding in some iodine. A weaker person would've plunged straight into the water, probably poisoning themselves.

When she finally takes a drink, some of the crowd actually cheers, and I can't help the smile that cracks across my face. Across the room I see Quinn smiling at me, and despite my torn feelings on the situation we're in, I blush.


	16. Sixteen

Nothing interesting happens for the rest of the day. I avoid Quinn as much as possible, and retire to bed early.

I wake up well before dawn, and pad down to the living room, stopping to ask a Capitol attendant to make me a hot chocolate.

I'm curled up on the couch, watching the cameras placed throughout the arena switch between sleeping tributes when it happens.

They linger on Katniss longer than they have on the other tributes when I realise something is wrong. Then I hear the crackling. Apparently Katniss hears it too, because she stirs, looking around in confusion, before she sees the wall of fire rapidly approaching her.

She scrabbles to get down from the tree, fumbling with the belt she's been using to secure herself in. She manages to release herself, and slams to the ground, jumping up as quickly as she fell.

Grabbing her bag, she shoves in the belt before taking off through the forest.

She follows the animals that are running through the undergrowth, pulling her t-shirt up to shield her face from the smoke.

I'm so far on the edge of my seat watching her that I'm sat more on my legs than the chair. Katniss continues to run through the smoking forest, hurdling over a fallen branch. She doesn't jump high enough though, and the bottom of her jacket catches on fire. She quickly rips it from her body, stomping on it to put out the embers, before rolling it up and shoving it in her sleeping bag.

For a minute, it looks like she's going to move again, before she leans over, and vomits.

She looks around, getting her baring, and starts to move when a massive fireball shoots through the trees, narrowly missing her. She drops to the ground just as the next fireball hisses past where she was standing, hitting a tree and engulfing it in flame.

She gets up and scrambles away, just in time to avoid another fireball hitting the ground where she was just lay.

"What's up Sandbags?" I hadn't even noticed Sue enter the room, but I shush her and motion towards the television. I hear her mumble a swearword under her breath before she takes a seat next to me.

We both watch in silence as Katniss thunders through the undergrowth of the forest, dodging fireballs until she has to stop to vomit again. She leans over and retches, bile blackened by the smoke spewing out her mouth.

She's disorientated, looking at the end of her braid in confusion when the next fireball comes hissing through the trees. She isn't fast enough to get out of the way, and the fireball licks up her right leg. Her pants become alight, and she screams, moving away from the fire and patting at her leg.

And then it's over.

Katniss sits for a little bit, panting and trying to inspect her leg, before she decides she isn't safe and moves a little away, seemingly watching the smoke dissipate.

When I've gotten dressed for the day, and grabbed a plate of food, Katniss is lay on her stomach in front of a spring, bathing her hands.

I watch her sit up and swing her leg round to inspect it, and I feel like throwing up. The skin is gone, and in its place is bright red, angry muscle. Katniss herself looks like she's going to faint. However, she takes a few deep breaths, before she dips it into the water, sighing softly in relief.

"We need to send her something." I tell Sue. She nods.

"When she's safe, if she moves, she might miss it." I know Sue's right, but part of me wants to send it now.

I watch her put her pack back together, wincing in pain every time she moves her hands, then making a small meal.

It's when we're down in the City Center, drumming up more support, that all hell breaks loose.


	17. Seventeen

It's when we're down in the City Center, drumming up more support, that all hell breaks loose.

It's evening, and we're getting ready to head back up to dinner when I hear someone gasp. Turning round, I see the career pack heading straight for Katniss. Luckily, she sees them too, and takes off running almost immediately, splashing through the pool of water, and off into the trees.

They see her, of course, and take off after her, although Peeta looks a little pained. Like he's feeling bad about having to kill her.

She runs until they're closing in on her, then begins to climb. The pain from that in itself must be horrible, and I'm surprised she's not collapsed. I think I would have.

By the time they reach her, she's 20 feet up in the air.

Katniss surveys them for a minute before smiling. "How's everything with you?" The people around me erupt in laughter.

"Well enough." The boy from District 2 shouts up. "Yourself?"

"Been a bit what for my taste." Katniss quips, and the crowd laugh even harder. I can feel a smile twitching at my lips, despite the situation. "The air's better up here. Why don't you come on up?"

"I think I will" The boy replies. That kills my smile.

"Here, take this Cato." The girl from District 1, Glimmer, tells him.

"No," he replies, cleaning his sword on the edge of his shirt. "I'll do better with this."

Cato begins to climb, but Katniss is faster, and she's up another thirty feet when there's a crack, and Cato falls back down to the floor.

Glimmer tries next, scaling the tree as far as she can before the branches begin to crack. While she's trying to fire arrows at Katniss, I can't help but notice how much she looks like Quinn.

Quinn. I look up and scan the room for her, find her about 30 feet away from me, eyes glued to the screen. She seems to sense my gaze though, and looks up when I don't look away. She mouths the word "roof" at me, and then returns her attention to the screen.

The careers eventually give up, Peeta telling them that they can wait at the bottom of the tree for her. I still can't figure out what his game is.

We're eating dinner when Katniss notices something in the trees across from her. I don't even think that the gamemakers knew she was there, but perching in a tree, eyes shining in the light from the careers fire, is Rue.

They keep eye contact for a minute before Rue lifts her hand and points towards something.

Tracker jackers. I know them well, from my own time in the arena, and from the forests surrounding 12. Katniss knows as well, knows what they do.

I see her looking up towards the nest and down towards the careers on the ground. I know what she's going to do before she does it. I watch her scramble through the tree, and take out her knife.

When the anthem plays, she begins to saw at the branch the wasps are attached to.

She realises she doesn't have enough time to finish sawing now though, and climbs back down the tree. She settles back down into her grove when Sue picks up the phone in the living room and mumbles a few words into it.

Seconds later, a silver parachute floats down towards Katniss. She takes the small pot attached to the parachute, then opens it. When she dips her fingers in it, she smiles.

"Oh," she whispers. "Thank you."

After I watch her apply the salve we've sent her, I rise, and head up to the roof, to a confrontation I don't want.


	18. Eighteen

**I AM SO SORRY. SO SO SORRY.  
><strong>**I moved house, and then I re-enrolled for uni, and two of my rats died, I've had a very unfortunate few months. HOWEVER, I intend to power few a couple of chapters and maybe even try to finish this THIS WEEKEND.  
><strong>**I hope you all don't hate me for not updating, and I know this chapter supersucks, but it's just filling, I promise. ITS GONNA GET GOOD.  
><strong>**Thanks for reading! And reviews would be super awesome. SUPER. **

* * *

><p>She's on the roof when I step out, standing on the very edge and watching something in the street below. I let the door slam shut behind me and she looks up and smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes.<p>

"Santana." She says. It's more of a statement than a greeting.

"Quinn." I reply, moving to stand next to her and leaning over the side.

She doesn't say anything in return, and instead of looking back over the railing, she just stares at me.

"We kissed." She states again. "We kissed and now you can't even look me in the eye."

I'm quiet for a minute, unsure of what to tell her.

"It's not you Quinn. It isn't. You're amazing, but…" She cuts me off before I can finish.

"It's Brittany, isn't it?" She smiles sadly at me, and I just nod.

"It's not that she wouldn't want me to move on, I know that she would. But I feel so guilty. Not about kissing you, that was great, by the way." Quinn blushes at that. "It's just, she should be out here, not me. None of this should be happening. I shouldn't be here." My voice cracks at the end of the sentence, and when I try to speak again, nothing comes out. Before I know it, I'm sobbing and Quinn is pulling me into a hug.

She just holds me while I cry. Cry out all the feelings about Brittany I've been harbouring, cry over everything I've lost. It takes me a good 30 minutes to calm down enough to talk again.

"I'm sorry." I sniffle into her shoulder.

"It's okay 'Tana," she tells me, rubbing circles on my back. "It's okay."

We've somehow ended up sitting on the ground, with me pulled into Quinns lap.

"Am I not hurting you?" I ask her, trying to wiggle off her knee. She just tightens her grip on me.

"Of course you aren't," She reaches up to brush a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "You weigh next to nothing. Have you even been eating?"

I look down sheepishly.

"Santana…" she says, in a tone that makes me feel like a naughty child.

"It's not that I haven't been eating! I just haven't been eating a lot, I spend too much time worrying."

She just tuts at me, pulling my head into her chest and giving me a chaste kiss on the forehead, "what am I going to do with you?" She mumbles into my hair.


	19. Nineteen

It's turning to day by the time I return to our floor, having spent the rest of the night talking with Quinn, she's apologetic for her tributes, and I know she's rooting for Katniss too.

I walk into the dining first, finding it empty. I make myself a coffee in the largest cup I can find then traipse into to the television room to find Sue sitting in front of the TV.

"She's still in the tree." She informs me without looking away from the screen. "The only problem is she's still sitting a few feet away from a tracker jacker nest." She gives me a pointed look, but I remember how deadly those mutant wasps are.

It's dawn now, and Katniss is sitting in her tree watching the careers below her, sleeping. She looks at her leg first and seems relived that the salve has worked it's magic and applies some more. She eats a little before quietly gathering most of her things and putting them into her backpack.

She starts to climb the tree before stopping in thought, then whispers to Rue. When Rue appears, she points at the nest, to which Katniss nods and makes a sawing motion with her knife. Rue then melts back into the trees.

She then continues to climb and positions her knife before noticing a tracker walking across the surface of the hive. She stops for a second before taking a deep breath and starts sawing through the tree again.

She's stung once before she's managed to get the nest free, pushing it down through the trees. It crashes to the ground and splits open before two more sting her.

"I wonder if she learnt that trick from her mentor?" One of the commentators exclaims, remembering when I used a nest as a weapon in my own games.

On the ground, Peeta springs up, along with a few other of the careers and they run out to the lake, obviously thinking that the water will deter the insects.

Glimmer, and the girl from district 4, who's name I don't remember, aren't so lucky, being stung so many times they haven't even had a chance to move before they're riddled with stings. The girl from district 4 stumbles out of sight also immediately, but Glimmer stays in the same place, trying to fend of the wasps and shrieking for help. No one comes.

She falls to the floor a minute later, twitching for another few minutes before coming to a stop. I know she hasn't died yet though, she's trapped in her own body, in terrible pain.

Once the wasps have dissipated, Katniss clambers down from the tree and stumbles through the forest, finding a small pool of water and plunging herself in it.

Katniss drags herself out of the pool a few minutes later and surveys her injuries. She sits for a while, obviously trying to think with the poison clouding her system before she staggers up and moves in the direction of the tree she's just knocked the tracker jackers out of.

She reaches the tree just as the cannon fires. The camera zooms in to get a close up of Glimmer, once beautiful, now horribly disfigured by the stings of the wasps, before Katniss begins trying to pry the bow from Glimmers had. She ends up smashing it with a rock to get the bow. Then she tries to move the body to get the sheath of arrows from under her, but falls back, horrified. Probably hallucinating.

Another cannon fire can be heard them, the girl from district 4 falling to her injuries. The hovercraft arrives then, and Katniss throws herself over the body of Glimmer, as if trying to protect it from the claw, but the craft scoops up the broken body of the other girl instead.

Stealing herself, Katniss tries once again to free the arrows from under the girl. This time she succeeds, just as the crashing of footsteps can be heard through the brush.

She pulls out an arrow and tries to position it on the bow but she can't, and slumps back just as Peeta runs into view.

"What are you still doing here?!" He yells at her, as myself and Sue lean even further forward from the couch, half excepting Peeta to drive the spear he's holding through Katniss.

"Get up!" he prods at her with the dull end of the spear, trying to get her to move. "Run!"

Katniss finally manages to get up and run as Cato comes crashing into view. She stumbles into trees, tripping over the dense undergrowth but manages to pull herself away from the clearing and away from Cato.


	20. Twenty

Katniss stumbles through the forest before finally caving and crashing to her knees, she slumps for a few minutes before her eyes roll back and she passes out from the poison. As Katniss passes out, a small body emerges from the trees, watching her.

Meanwhile, Cato and Peeta are locked in a fight. Cato has managed to get a pretty good slice into Peeta, just above his knee. Blood gushes from the wound, but not at a rate that suggests the artery has been severed. At least he won't bleed to death, if he manages to escape Cato.

Just as I've had that thought Peeta delivers a crushing blow to Cato's head, knocking him out cold. Instead of killing him though, Peeta just turns and hobbles away from the scene of the fight. As he leaves, the sound of the female from distract 2 calling to Cato can be heard.

After we've watched Peeta limp down towards the stream, Sue sends me off to shower telling me I reek of "privilege" so I head to my room and spend a good 30 minutes under the shower, trying to clear my head.

I can't help but worry about Katniss. I know she's got Rue watching her, but that girl is so small a butter knife would probably injure her. I try and tear myself away from my thoughts and ready myself for the day. I know there's going to be a lot of interest in us today, lots of interviews and comparisons. I hate the day already.

We're riding down the elevator when it stops on floor 4 and Finnick slides in, dashing as ever. He gives us both a crooked smile and stands between us.

"I expect I'll see you both tonight?" He asks us, eyes trained on the door in front of him.

"Of course," Sue tells him, not looking away from the door either, "You know we wouldn't miss a chance to drink you under the table." It's all banter, still a show even though no one is around. We know there's cameras though, and probably microphones too.

The doors slide open to the first floor, and the place is buzzing with activity. The minute I've stepped out of the elevator cab I'm dragged away for an interview with Artie. He laughs about how I've taught Katniss some of my old 'tricks' and I give him a tight smile in response. I'm not in the mood to talk about killing people today. I see Quinn walk by and she gives a small, sympathetic smile before moving on, trying to get sponsors for her remaining tribute.

All anyone wants to talk about is how Katniss killed Glimmer anyway. More and more people are betting on her to win.

I struggle through the rest of the day, resisting the urge to kill about 40 people before we can finally return to our rooms and get away from the cameras. I change first and head out of the door as soon as I'm ready. I'm halfway to the bar when I feel a familiar hand slip into my own. I look up to see Quinn walking alongside me and smile, closing my hand tightly round hers.


	21. Twenty One

We slip through the Capitol undetected, our pace slowing more as we enjoy being together. We don't say anything, the joined hands are enough, and by the time we reach the bar we know we're late, but I can't find it in myself to care.  
>We stop at the bar to get our usual drinks then slink down behind the bookcase. They've already started by the sounds of things, and when we enter the room, Johanna rounds on us straight away.<p>

"Where have you been?" She screeches at us, not giving us time to answer before she carries on her tirade. It becomes apparent very quickly that no one else is going to get the chance to speak tonight.  
>It's hard to catch up to what she's talking about, but Katniss is mentioned numerous times, and I realise that she's jealous.<br>I bark out a laugh and she's practically on top of me straight away, demanding and accusing.  
>"You're jealous" I chuckle, not bothering to contain my amusement. "You thought that you were going to be the poster child for this entire cause, and now someone's turned up who has the spark to drive the entire thing, and you're acting like a baby, throwing your toys out of the pram."<br>I can see a few heads nod out of the corner of my eye, so I continue. "We need you Johanna, I won't deny that, you're a massive part of what we've achieved already, and you're gonna continue to be, but we need her as well. You can bitch and moan however much you want, but it's not gonna change. She's important. You're both important, but without her it's gonna be years before anything even happens."

She takes a deep breath, scowl settling in place and I know she wants to say something else, but before she can, Finnick jumps in. "Plutarch, you said you had more news about 13?"

"Ah, yes" He heaves himself up from the chair he's wedged into. I've never been able to understand the amount of people that can afford to carry extra weight in the Capitol. "After long, and extensive talks with the leaders of the district, they've pledged their support. Anything we need, besides the weapons that keep the Capitol at bay. They've been living underground for so long now that any chance they can get to get topside is a big leap."

He continues his speech on how much support we'll be getting, but I'm not listening, and I let my eyes wander round the room. Everyone is hanging on Plutarch's words, eager to get our plans into motion as soon as possible. I come to a stop on Quinn, watching the way she gently chews on her lip as she's paying attention, and the way her hazel eyes sparkle in the low lighting of the room. I don't know how long I stare but I don't realise when Plutarch has finished talking until she nudges me.

"Stop staring, it's creepy." She smiles, turning to face me.  
>"I.." I try and think of an excuse but I can't, my mouth opening and closing.<br>She laughs, standing and pulling me to my feet. "It's okay, I think it's flattering." She pauses for a second before she turns to face me. "I was proud of you, earlier" I'm about to interrupt to ask her what the hell she's talking about but she carries on "Two years ago, you would've cut Johanna down with vicious words and threatening, and it would've worked, because you're scary when you're mad, but you didn't, not today." She raises her hand to my face, using her fingertips to trace my cheekbone. "You handled the situation like an adult, and I am so proud of you." She pauses, fingers tracing my lips. "You're so beautiful" she murmurs before leaning forward and capturing my lips.

"Hey lesbos" A voice sounds behind Quinn, and I pull away and lean around her.  
>"What now Johanna?" I sigh, watching the woman bristle.<br>"In the words of the famous drunkard, Santana Lopez, 'I wants to get my drink on', so get your asses upstairs!" She turns on her heel and stops up the stairs. I sigh, beginning to think that Johanna is incapable of doing anything without aggression.  
>Quinn tugs my hand, pulling me towards the stairs with a smile on her face.<p>

We spend the rest of the night getting drunk, laughing and actually enjoying everyone's company for once.  
>By the time we're heading back to the Training Centre, the streets have emptied considerably, and the only people that are out are as drunk as we are, and don't pay attention to us.<br>Quinn and I somehow manage to end up trailing behind the rest of the group, and by the time we reach the elevator in the lobby of our makeshift home, there's no one else around.

We tumble into the elevator, laughing, and press the buttons for our floors. I sober slightly as the lift starts to move, a thousand thoughts running errantly through my mind.  
>When the lift doors slide open, and Quinn starts to leave, I catch her by the wrist, pulling her back to me and placing a searing kiss onto her lips.<br>"Stay with me? Tonight?" I ask her, looking into her warm hazel eyes, one's that I'd found so cold once.

She answers me with an equally as intense kiss, and the doors slide closed, taking us to my floor.

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><p><strong>I DID IT. : REVIEW. I AM BEING PRODUCTIVE. <strong>


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